1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to air fresheners which release an aroma into the atmosphere of a room or other enclosure, and more particularly to a decorative air freshener unit that is adherable to tile or other flat substrate to render an interior atmosphere more pleasing, the unit indicating when its fragrance is exhausted.
2. Status of Prior Art
As used herein, the term "aroma" or "fragrance" is not limited to perfume-like odors, but encompasses any odor that is suitable as an air freshener to condition, modify or otherwise charge the ambient atmosphere.
The aroma of perfumes and perfume-based products such as colognes and toilet waters was originally derived from the essential oil of plants. However, since the early 19th century, chemists have succeeded in analyzing many essential oils and in creating thousands of synthetics, some simulating natural products and others yielding altogether new scents. Perfumes today are largely blends of natural and synthetic scents and of fixatives which equalize vaporization and enhance pungency. In most liquid scents, the ingredients are combined with a highly volatile alcohol carrier.
The concern of the present invention is with a decorative air freshener unit that can be adhered to a tile, a wall or any other substrate to render the atmosphere of a room or other enclosure more pleasing.
My prior 1988 U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,409 discloses an air freshener of the film laminate type which is adherable to a wall tile in a bathroom or kitchen or to any other flat substrate such as a window. This film laminate includes a transparent, plastic face film impregnated with a volatile fragrance that is slowly released from the film. The concentration of the fragrance in the film is such as to result in prolonged emission. The face film is laminated to a transparent backing film in a manner which does not impair the transparency of the laminate.
Imprinted on the front surface of the backing film is artwork representing an aroma-producing object of some sort. This artwork is effectively sandwiched between the face film and the backing film and is thereby protected. The rear surface of the backing film is coated with a low tack, pressure-sensitive adhesive. Thus, the laminate may be adhered onto a smooth tile or window and later pulled therefrom when the fragrance is exhausted.
The problem encountered with an air freshener unit of the type disclosed in my prior patent as well as other forms of air fresheners having a limited supply of fragrance is that the user is unable to tell just when the supply is exhausted and the unit is no longer effective. The reason for this inability is that an exhausted unit has a residual odor that lingers on well after the unit has run out of fragrance.